Joko Pilianto, Amr Abou El-Ela, Asim Munawar, Xiangfen Zhang, Dun Wang, Abid Ali Soomro, Naved A. Ansari, Wenwu Zhou, Zengrong Zhu
Clothianidin (CLO) is a widely used neonicotinoid insecticide in agricultural systems and may pose risks to non-target aquatic organisms, including amphibians. Here, we evaluated acute and sublethal effects of CLO on Fejervarya cancrivora tadpoles, an important predator of insect pests in rice paddy ecosystems. Acute toxicity tests (96 h) yielded an LC50 of 50.41 mg a.i./L (with LC10, LC25 and LC30 values of 15.35, 31.96 and 36.07 mg a.i./L, respectively). Sublethal exposure at these concentrations significantly reduced body weight, whole-body length, and hindlimb length during metamorphosis. CLO also altered thyroid hormone regulation, with T4 showing a dose-dependent increase, while T3 was elevated relative to controls but showed comparatively limited additional sensitivity to concentration and exposure duration. Locomotor activity was impaired under sublethal CLO exposure, reflected by reduced swimming distance and speed. In addition, frogs that developed from CLO-exposed tadpoles exhibited decreased feeding efficiency on brown planthoppers (Nilaparvata lugens) across developmental stages 46–48. Together, these findings demonstrate that CLO can affect amphibian development, endocrine regulation, and behavior at sublethal levels, highlighting the need to incorporate sublethal endpoints into ecological risk assessment and to promote pest management strategies that reduce impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. © 2026 by the authors.
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China; Department of Plant Pests and Diseases, University of Brawijaya, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Institute of Entomology, Northwest AF University, Xianyang, 712100, China; Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture (Saba Basha), Alexandria University, Alexandria, 21531, Egypt; Shandong Lushou Seed Industry Co., Ltd., Shouguang, 262700, China; Hainan Institute, Zhejiang University, Sanya, 572000, China
